the times square bomb plot was foiled when a street vendor noticed a suspicious vehicle and notified a cop.

i'm sure there are plenty of bullshit involved - people "saying something" after they notice a brown guy with a beard - but this isn't a pointless program.

it still a concern that people are being encouraged to make and to voice security complaints and concerns regarding other citizens to a company that has nothing to do with "law and order". oh crap i cant get a loan, someone complained to walmart about their fears that i am a terrorist, now i'm black listed.

i'd like to know what devices are in place to guarentee the security of the information taken about citizens, and what their rights are to guarentee any information gained by walmart is not kept or sold once any allegations are resolved. or more importantly in terms of distribution, before they're resolved.

i'm not saying this program is going to do much good at walmart, just that it has it's place. i think looking at it as part of a "snitch culture" is overly simplistic.

yes the media and government do a great job of keeping us afraid, but i don't think that fear and vigilance are at a one to one ratio. we can keep an eye out without being paranoid. i haven't been to israel but the impression i get is that people over there go about their daily lives and don't live in constant fear of a bombing. however, they are obviously pretty vigilant about it. (of course, their foreign policy is quite paranoid).

the times square bomb plot was foiled when a street vendor noticed a suspicious vehicle and notified a cop.

i'm sure there are plenty of bullshit involved - people "saying something" after they notice a brown guy with a beard - but this isn't a pointless program.

it still a concern that people are being encouraged to make and to voice security complaints and concerns regarding other citizens to a company that has nothing to do with "law and order". oh crap i cant get a loan, someone complained to walmart about their fears that i am a terrorist, now i'm black listed.

i'd like to know what devices are in place to guarentee the security of the information taken about citizens, and what their rights are to guarentee any information gained by walmart is not kept or sold once any allegations are resolved. or more importantly in terms of distribution, before they're resolved.

i'm not saying this program is going to do much good at walmart, just that it has it's place. i think looking at it as part of a "snitch culture" is overly simplistic.

yes the media and government do a great job of keeping us afraid, but i don't think that fear and vigilance are at a one to one ratio. we can keep an eye out without being paranoid. i haven't been to israel but the impression i get is that people over there go about their daily lives and don't live in constant fear of a bombing. however, they are obviously pretty vigilant about it. (of course, their foreign policy is quite paranoid).

Overly simplistic? Perhaps. That was partly my point, is that this doesn't offer any tangible intervention into terrorism, as far as I'm concerned, and I was trying to avoid giving this more moral outrage than its worth. Personally, I don't give a fuck if someone shoplifts from Wal-Mart and i probably wouldn't say something. And I don't think this does much beyond remind people who are going about their lives that their life is in danger. Wait, isn't terrorism successful precisely because those who use it aren't acting suspicious? Could be my anti-authoritarian tendencies, but I'm resistant to the whole terrorism narrative in the first place- trying not to let my government define what I should be afraid of, trying not to live in a world that relies on law enforcement to give me comfort in walking in public.

Wed Dec 08, 2010 2:55 pm

PoetryBox

Joined: 14 Feb 2007
Posts: 452
Location: brampton, ON

This is a bit disturbing. The government giving authority to "look out" or "spy" on citizens to a retail company. Having different corporations helping out with security of citizens is only gonna end up badly. Seem more to monitor people then to actually find terrorists.

Wed Dec 08, 2010 3:56 pm

SoSuhMe

Joined: 21 May 2010
Posts: 71

588 stores in 27 states? Wow. Im glad wal-mart is using their resources for good.

Wed Dec 08, 2010 11:50 pm

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